PRESS RELEASE -
As we celebrate Earth Day, we need to remember that sustainable winegrowing is important to winemakers and vineyards throughout California. The Wine Institute has developed their sustainable winegrowing program and region after region have incorporated this program into their practices.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
In 2004 I was on my knees scrabbling through the Cameroon rainforest. A keen botanist, I’d signed up as a volunteer with an NGO to help map the forest and search for new species. One day whilst hiking along a surging river, I came across a little shrub, no taller than my knee, peppered with bright blue flowers. Not recognizing the bush, I called over one of the local scientists in our group. He immediately alerted the botany professor who, in turn, got very excited. They had never seen a shrub like it before, and it turned out to be a new species.
PRESS RELEASE -
An evolving approach to sustainability reveals how everyone has a seat at the table.
LEADERSHIP -
In the summer of 2012, I came upon a discovery so mind-blowing that it has taken me nearly four years to get my feet back on solid ground. After two decades of research to find the connection between human nature and Mother Nature, a simple E=mc2-type equation emerged. I call this the Voice Code.
Believe it or not, this discovery has revealed the natural laws that govern all human thinking. In doing so, it has allowed us to now clearly map the timeless principles and practices that all visionary minds master to become a force of nature in the pursuit of their life’s purpose.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Move over Prince Ea, there's a new spoken word artist promoting sustainability. To help reach a wider audience for its newly-released 2015 sustainability report, Heineken recruited Dutch rapper and vocal artist Kevin "Blaxtar" de Randamie to transform the report into his own artistic expression.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
My family eats a mostly vegetarian diet. Some kids at school were making fun of my 9-year-old son, telling him how great meat tastes. Before diving into the challenge of dealing with childhood peers, I asked him if he knew why we’re vegetarian. When it was clear he didn’t (that’s on me), I started to tell him about the environmental impacts of meat as it’s currently produced, health benefits, and animal welfare.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
In my previous article I examined the challenge of developing our authentic purpose. In this article I would like to explain a little about how we can approach authentic purpose with a view to helping businesses and organisations make the leap from developing sustainable technology to achieving sustainable human evolution.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
A few months back, I led a panel at the annual Points of Light conference in Houston, TX, where we discussed some very important topics along with one very small word: “and.” As in, how to bring credibility and sustainability to a company’s purpose, or how to connect strategies, concepts and people.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
The term ‘greenwashing’ might be officially outdated. In 2016, the number of companies making unmerited PR splashes over sustainability is far outweighed by those who are taking significant strides forward and not talking about it. When faced with the science of climate change and transparency into corporate accountability in 2016, sustainability is simply part of doing business.
Yet many leading companies still shy away from fully embracing their sustainability stories. Excellent, groundbreaking work is happening across the private sector with no-one around to hear. To re-philosophize the old saying … if a tree grows in a deforestation zone, and no one is around to hear the re-surging wildlife, does it make an impact?
Unfortunately, the answer is no.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
At age 27, I was the youngest director elected to Vancity Credit Union, the largest community-based credit union in the world. It was the late 1980s. I ran a seniors' agency, was chair of a provincial social planning group and had been a recent board member of the local United Way. In two and a half words, I was a "social do-gooder."
My first board-management strategy session was spent discussing mergers, declining margins, capital adequacy and potential staff lay-offs. We were in a bad business cycle.
An hour before the meeting was scheduled to end, we reached the final agenda item: "Other Business."
LEADERSHIP -
In the summer of 2012, after two decades of research to find the missing link between human nature and Mother Nature, the “Voice Code” emerged. This disruptive equation reconciles more than a century of social research and shows the scientific basis for the seemingly supernatural powers of game changers such as Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Oprah Winfrey and countless lesser-known outliers of human thriving.
NEW METRICS -
It has been my pleasure to edit this tour-de-force 6-part series — now an e-book — by my colleague, Ralph Thurm, in which he lays out his vision for how integral thinking and true materiality can catalyze a regenerative and inclusive economy, leveraging the work of the ThriveAbility Foundation, the Reporting 3.0 Platform, and the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings (GISR).
PRESS RELEASE -
Arizona State University (ASU) has emerged as a leader in sustainability education in part due to its Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, a series of programs designed to solve global sustainability problems, educate future leaders in sustainability strategies, and
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Last month Thomas Kolster, author of the critically acclaimed book, Goodvertising, compèred a packed SB’16 Copenhagen preview event featuring insights on Behavioural Economics from Krukow, the launch of a new sustainable packaging solution from Carlsberg and the announcement of a
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
“The California you don't see on postcards” is featured in a new web series: Spotlight California. In each episode, comedienne Kiran Deol speaks to community activists and people directly affected by issues such as the state's drought, high gas prices, and the racial disparities of air pollution.
NEW METRICS -
In 18 earlier parts of this series, Claire Sommer, Jill Lipoti and I developed 37 pitfalls in the sustainable business metrics field, based on the experiences of many mostly non-business fields (Find them here.).
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
I was absolutely delighted to read the recent announcement from Sustainable Brands CEO KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz revealing that the theme of SB ‘16 San Diego will be ‘activating purpose.’ This year’s event is dedicated to helping businesses and brands move from understanding why purpose-driven brand leadership is the path to success in the 21st century to actually learning how to bring that purpose to life.
NEW METRICS -
This is Part 3 of a 6-part series about integral thinking and true materiality. It proposes a new impetus to develop reporting that is able to serve the idea of a green & inclusive economy. Read Part 1 and Part 2.
NEW METRICS -
It's easy to use 'common sense' and make assumptions in sustainability, but does that get you the results you want? As a science-based method, LCA is an excellent tool to bust the myths that surround sustainability. In this series, we look at some common sustainability ideas to see if they are myth or truth. In today’s episode: the drive towards zero emissions.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
World-class adventurer, extreme sportsman, author and entrepreneur Albert Bosch has done it all … from climbing the world’s seven highest summits to a solo trek across Antarctica to competing in nine Dakar Rallies and multiple ultra-marathons, to this month releasing his latest book, The Future Explorer (only available in Spanish at the moment).